But as the taxpayer-funded soiree grew to include a band, a bartender, valet parking, an ice sculpture and an overall price tag of more than $16,000, her actions went from managerial to criminal, prosecutors said Thursday as testimony began in her felony trial.

Tinsley, 43, could face up to two years in a state jail facility if jurors in 399th state District Court find her guilty of misapplication of fiduciary property.

The 12-year employee was fired in October 2009, 10 months after the retirement party for former director Drew Cameron. A couple hundred people showed up to the event, which she described in documents as a “community development conference,” she told investigators.

HUD never contested the way the money was spent, and neither should jurors, said defense attorney Jay Norton.

The event was not as extravagant as prosecutors are making it sound, Norton added, describing outgoing director Cameron as a nationally renowned expert in his field. Among the legitimate purposes for the gathering was to introduce Tinsley to other municipalities as Cameron's successor, he said.

“This was not entertainment,” he said. “This was an obligatory business reception. There's no nefarious party. This is a very public event the people in the administration of the city of San Antonio knew about.”

“In hindsight, knowing that I would have to go through all this stuff, I wouldn't have done it,” Tinsley told the city investigator in an interview that was played for jurors. “At the time, I didn't think it was wrong because it's part of my administrative budget.”

Tinsley's intentions will be an important issue for jurors, the defense predicted.

“‘Inappropriate' is not the (legal) standard,” Norton said. “It can't be by mistake. If you don't have the guilty mind ... the person is not guilty.”